


A Schoolhouse Goodbye

by howthemoonsuitsthenightsky



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I just miss anne and gilbert okay, I was reading anne of avonlea and couldn't help but write this after, could also be set in the anne with an e universe I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22468420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howthemoonsuitsthenightsky/pseuds/howthemoonsuitsthenightsky
Summary: Anne is upset at the thought of leaving behind Avonlea school and all the children she teaches, but thankfully someone is there to cheer her up.An alternative chapter in Anne of Avonlea in which Anne's final day of teaching goes slightly differently.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 3
Kudos: 57





	A Schoolhouse Goodbye

Anne let out a sigh as she collapsed down onto her chair. The last child, Paul Irving of course, had been seen out of the schoolhouse and Anne was left sitting in a room of empty desks, a room that she realised, she was probably never to enter again. 

Out of the window, she could see the inviting green fields that surrounded the Lake of Shining Waters and hear the sounds of summer reaching its height but, for once, the sights and sounds didn’t seem inviting. She would have much preferred to stay in the schoolhouse forever, to run her hands over the desks and evoke all the memories she had of the place. But she knew she would have to go home soon; she had sent Davy and Dora off with a promise that she would return to Green Gables almost as quick as on a normal day and just because she wasn’t their teacher anymore, she didn’t feel that justified misleading them.

She let her head collapse onto her arms as she felt the threat of tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. Breathing in deeply, she clenched her jaw and tried to push back the feeling.

A sudden sound made her jump, her head flying up to see what had caused it. “Gilbert?” The dark-haired young man stood at the entrance to the classroom, his loose shirt slightly unbuttoned to cope with the heat outside. 

“Afternoon, Anne,” he said with a small smile, stepping further into the room until he was strolling towards her desk. 

“What are you doing here?” Anne didn’t mean her question to come across as malicious, so she explained herself to prevent any confusion. “I would have thought you’d still be in White Sands. They finished for summer today too, right?”

“Yes,” Gilbert nodded as he came to a stop at the front line of desks. Sitting down on the top of one, he let one leg dangle in the air as he spoke. “But we finished at lunchtime and I had a feeling that you might be in some need of company after your last day.”

Anne cast her eyes downward, a blush rising in her cheeks. “Am I that predictable?”

“Any teacher half as amazing as you would be sad on their last day, I’m sure.” Anne felt her blush spread for an entirely different reason but having calloused Gilbert on the subject of praising her in the past, a topic entirely too close to flirting, he quickly continued. “I might have even shed a tear or two.”

Anne let herself look at him once more. “Even you?” Her voice came out quieter than she had expected, as if she were trying to convey her message in secret in a full room, rather than an empty one. 

“Even me.” Gilbert stood and held out his arm towards her. “Now, I think we need to get you back to Green Gables, before I start again.”

Anne let out a small laugh and pushed herself up from her chair. Having taken most of her belongings home throughout the week, she only had her lunch basket and a couple of books to take back to Green Gables. Sliding her chair under her desk, and making sure to leave it neat enough to please Jane in the coming autumn, she looked at Gilbert’s outstretched arm and thought of a cunning plan to herself. 

Taking her books in one arm, she picked up the basket in the other and promptly handed it over to Gilbert. His arm remained outstretched, a look of confusion spreading itself over his features. “Anne, I meant for you to take my arm.”

Anne let herself shrug, forcing the smile that was trying to fight its way out back down. “I thought you were here to support your good friend. That’s what seems to best way for you to do it.”

Gilbert lowered his arm so that the basket dangled by his side, letting out a not very hidden sigh. He gestured for Anne to take the lead and the pair made their final journey out of the schoolhouse. Anne could have sworn she heard him mutter her name under his breath, but when she looked back, he merely smiled. 

At the bottom of the steps, back out in the fresh air, Anne turned to watch Gilbert shutting the schoolhouse door. She felt the prick of tears threaten once again, but quickly blinked them away. 

“I feel like I’m shutting off all the memories from my childhood,” Anne mused, taking one final look at the building before she and Gilbert started walking away. 

A comfortable silence hung between the pair as they made their way towards Gren Gables, the sounds of crickets and summer birds filling the air as their own thoughts filled their minds. “What do you mean?” Gilbert finally asked, letting the basket casually swing by his side. 

“Well, I didn’t truly feel like a child until I moved to Avonlea and ever since then, apart from my time at Queen’s, it feels like my life has been defined by that school, almost as much as Green Gables itself.” She looked over at Gilbert to find him already gazing at her. 

“That’s a fair point, it was your place of learning and then your place of work.” He paused a let a smile creep over his face. “And you did get up to quite some antics there.”

Anne let her eyes close momentarily as she sighed. “I know you’re thinking about the slate, Gilbert. That was one thing, one antic!”

Gilbert let out a laugh that was so infectious, Anne couldn’t help but follow suit. “Hey, I was a changed man from that moment.” Anne drew in a sharp breath, her laughter quickly ceasing as she cast her eyes down to her feet. “The shape of my head hasn’t been the same since, I’m sure of it.” Anne let out her breath in relief. 

The pair reached Lovers Lane at that moment, the green leaves that found their way there in summer casting flickering shade over them. “Hopefully it’ll teach you not to call red-headed girls ‘carrots’ in future.”

“I haven’t since, have I?” Anne let herself look back at Gilbert to find his gaze almost intense enough to bring back her blush. At that moment, she realised that both of their free arms had been edging closer, as if trying to make good on Gilbert’s earlier offer. She felt the back of her palm brush against his, her heart rate leaping in response. 

“You’ve been a perfect gentleman these past few years,” Anne found herself admitting, her attention being drawn to the way the sparks of sunlight flickered across his cheeks. 

“Anne!” A sudden cry broke both of their gazes, affixing them instead on the young boy bounding his way towards the pair. He crashed into Anne’s skirt, arms flinging around her waist as his head buried itself against her stomach. “Marilla said you would be home soon, but I couldn’t wait so I was heading back to school. I thought Paul Irving might have offered to walk with you, but I can be just as much of a gentleman as he can, I promise.”

“I know you can, Davy.” She let her hand rest on his hair a moment before stepping back. “But don’t worry, Gilbert and I were…” She trailed off, an expectant Davy looking up at her with curiosity. 

Gilbert broke the silence. “I was helping Anne get her things home after her last day.” Their eyes met once more, but suddenly Gilbert seemed more distant. “Now you’re here though, you can help.” He addressed Davy, holding the hand with the basket in out to him. The little boy proudly took the basket, eyes lighting up at the idea of being of assistance to Anne. “I’ll see you soon.” Gilbert nodded to the pair and turned around to walk back down Lover’s Lane. 

As Anne and Davy continued to Green Gables, the former couldn’t help but look back, hoping that the man walking away from them would do the same.


End file.
